When's the right time to get your middle schoolers online? Researcher Jean Twenge (iGen) says that people born since 1995--that's the class just starting to graduate from college, and their younger siblings--have basically grown up with round-the-clock Internet access. It's not healthy, and it's causing some specific, traceable problems ... and yet, the world our kids are graduating into demands computer literacy ... and expects to find a current social media footprint. How can we both protect our younger kids and prepare them for the real world just a few years ahead? This episode, we'll start the conversation on middle schoolers and the online world ...

 

Some Announcements ... We are still celebrating the release of our new book, No Longer Little: Parenting Tweens with Grace and Hope ... and we are getting some fantastic first-reader reviews! CLICK HERE to see a sample ... or to order your own copy.  Background information: This week's episode is in response to several of those reviews!

We're scheduling upcoming events ... We've recently finished agreements for events in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Florida ... and we have plans to be in Maryland for a private event, soon, too. CLICK HERE to see our newest plans ... and if you'd like to have us speak at your church, retreat, conference, or other event, VISIT OUR SPEAKING EVENT WEBSITE HERE.

Big HELLO to our new listeners on iHeartRadio! Be sure to come here to check out the show notes and links we mention on the air ...

So what about middle schoolers and time online?

Dr. Twenge says that studies indicate the average high school senior now spends six hours per day online - including two and a quarter hours in text messaging, alone. Where is this time coming from? She shows that it comes from less time in homework, less time in extracurricular activities, less time working after-school jobs, and much less time just hanging out with friends "in real life." This is undermining their social and emotional developments in many ways that explain the alarm and hysteria coming from college campuses these days!

There is also some correlation with the rise in teenage mental illness, including self-harming behaviors, and obsessive use of social media.

So it should be obvious that we don't want to drop our pre-teens into that mix when they are in their most uprooted, emotional, hormonal, and generally unstable time of life. It wouldn't be wise, it wouldn't be prudent, and it simply wouldn't be kind.

Instead, let's hold off on social media for young people until they're back on an even emotional keel - maybe 15 or 16. At that point, we recommend starting them off with lots of supervision and advice. Why? Because like it or not, social media has replaced the front porch and casual relationships in church, neighborhood, and community for establishing a basic public reputation. It's expected. That means we need to coach our young people in appropriate online behavior, just like our parents wager beat casino review or grandparents coached us--what's appropriate and how we should act where the neighbors can hear or the community can see.

What about other uses of the net?

We need to recognize that the old "electronic babysitter," the television of our youth,